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Case study part 2: Melissa hits a brick wall

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Previously in part 1… Melissa Dale (not her real name) has never used any kind of To Do list before this week but now her work has ballooned and she’s writing lists “to tame” the job and stop being overwhelmed. She’s got her list and she’s cracking on with it. Now read on.

It’s yesterday afternoon, I’m working away here and this email lands:

From: Melissa.Dale@acme-psuedonym.com
Date: 15 October 2014 13:56:24 BST
To: wg@williamgallagher.com
Subject: RE: Case studies

Number one on my To Do list only just completed! šŸ™

Notice the time. She started at 09:00 and this was just before 14:00. That’s getting on for five hours spent on the first of what is an enormous To Do list. I think that when this happens to you, you end up looking at me and saying nuts to all your advice, it clearly isn’t working.

It isn’t.

But on the one hand I think it still will in the end and on the other, I don’t see an alternative. Trying to do her new duties the way she did before is just not going to work. I can admire Melissa for having coped with her job for a long time without To Do lists but in a way that’s hurting her now: she’s not had to be prepared to handle so many new tasks at once. So she’s got these new tasks but she’s also got the task of handling the tasks. That doesn’t go on a list but this doesn’t make it any easier.

We have a slight complication in that Melissa can’t show me her To Do list: there’s too much on there that is confidential. So I’m trying to help her with the theory, it’s down to her to apply it. And that’s fine, that’s really how it ought to be, but Melissa’s in the trenches there and I think she’s going in with a list that isn’t helping her.

To Do lists are dangerous things. If you’re the type of person who just likes To Do list, that’s happy for you. Most of us like having done things and the list is the way to do that, so we like the list’s effect. We’re not OCD-organised list fans. Melissa is certainly not a list fan. But she’s been forced to use one because of the sheer volume of work and the thing with sheer volumes is that they tend to also come with sheer timescales. She has not got the time in her day to step away and concoct a perfect To Do list.

Ordinarily, I’d be glad about that: I want you spending time doing things, not twiddling with lists of things.

In this case, though, she dumped every single thing out of her head and onto the list ā€“ so far, so great ā€“ and has then immediately begun working through it. Exactly as it is, right in front of her.

I’ve advised her to take a few minutes to look at all of the tasks. Look for ones that belong together or have anything in common. Phone calls, for instance, she’s got plenty of those. Whatever task you’re doing, there is the task itself and there is the run up to and the lead away from: with a phone call it’s perhaps getting a desk or a space where you won’t be interrupted, it’s looking up the number and then after the call it’s noting down what has happened and what tasks have come out of it. If you do the next call tomorrow, it’s exactly the same thing. But if you do the next call right now, it isn’t.

You’ve found your quiet space, you’ve got all your phone numbers, make as many calls as you can in one sitting. Think about all the calls you can make. Every job is divided into many projects ā€“ Melissa now has responsibility for different areas of the UK so you might well create a North East list or a South West one ā€“ but ignore that division and make as many calls across as many projects as you can. You save a little time before each one by already being there, already being ready, and what’s more you have just attacked your To Do list in many different projects. You’ve pushed them all forward.

Melissa didn’t sound very convinced by this but she’s going to try it. And she’s going to look for the same thing in other areas: can you group all your emails together, for instance? If two tasks on two projects require you to be in the same place in the North East, can you arrange to do both on the same day?

One last thing. One last thing that Melissa wasn’t just unconvinced of but actually gave me that jerk of the head that says yeah, right, sure, a likely story. When she goes through her whole list she will find that there are tasks in there that she doesn’t have to do.

I promised her and I promise you. It is always true. Dump everything out of your head and then work your list: you’ll have done some things already, you’ll be able to group others and there will be yet more that you simply do not have to do.

I’ll tell you how Melissa gets on.

Scrivener updated to play nice with OS X Yosemite

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Apple is expected to at least announce a definite shipping date for the new OS X Yosemite in a few hours and may even do that “available today” tricky the company loves doing. In anticipation of that, the writing platform ā€“ I struggle to find a phase for it as it’s much more than a word processor ā€“ has been updated to work with the new operating system. It’s also got a couple of twiddles and a temporary stop to your sharing Scrivener documents directly to Facebook and Twitter. Never knew it had that in it.

But then I am a particularly new and light user of Scrivener. Let Bryan Chaffin of The Mac Observer tell you more:

The binary code love of my lifeā€”Scrivenerā€”was updated to version 2.6 Thursday morning. The update includes support for OS X 10.10 Yosemite, which Apple is expected to either release later on Thursday during a media event, or announce a release date.

Scrivener is the premier writing environment for the Mac, and it’s aimed at novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, and researchers. The release includes a ton of general bug fixes, as well as a couple of new features specific to Yosemite.

Literature and Latte also included a new import/export option relating to which version of Java gets used, removed Draft, Research, and Trash folder results from searches,and changed the way items dragged to the Binder are viewed.

Lastly, the company said that a 64-bit version of Scrivener was coming in the future. Until that time, Twitter and Facebook sharing services won’t be available in Scrivener in Yosemite.

Scrivener Updated to Support Yosemite – Bryan Chaffin, The Mac Observer (16 October 2014)

Read the full piece.

It sounds like a joke but addiction to Google Glass is real

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Maybe it’s more surprising that anyone has used it enough to get addicted yet. But The Guardian reports of a man who had been wearing one for his job and it’s caused problems:

Scientists have treated a man they believe to be the first patient with internet addiction disorder brought on by overuse of Google Glass.

The man had been using the technology for around 18 hours a day ā€“ removing it only to sleep and wash ā€“ and complained of feeling irritable and argumentative without the device. In the two months since he bought the device, he had also begun experiencing his dreams as if viewed through the deviceā€™s small grey window.

The existence of internet addiction disorder linked to conventional devices such as phones and PCs is hotly debated among psychiatrists. It was not included as a clinical diagnosis in the 2013 update to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the official reference guide to the field, and many researchers maintain that its effects are merely symptoms of other psychological problems.

Google Glass user treated for internet addiction caused by the device ā€“ Azeen Ghorayshi, The Guardian (14 October 2014)

Read the full piece.

Three UK launches calls without a mobile cell signal

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That quirky underground restaurant. Sitting on the train. Or your friendā€™s basement flat where you can only get signal if you stick your arm out the window.

On mobile networks, unfortunately there are times when you just canā€™t seem to get a signal. So we created Three inTouch for our customers ā€“ a free app that lets you connect through Wi-Fi even if thereā€™s no mobile signal. Just download and activate.

No signal? No problem with Three inTouch ā€“ email, Three (16 October 2014)

All Three users in the UK ā€“ wait, that sounds like the company is really unpopular, let me try again. All the doubtlessly millions of people in the UK who use the Three mobile phone company have today been emailed about Three inTouch. This is an iOS and Android app that lets you make phone calls and send texts even when your phone has no signal. At least, when it has no mobile phone signal. It does have to have wifi.

But if you’re in a spot and moreover are in a wifi spot, you will be able to launch the app and get on with calling or texting. Or sexting. I don’t judge. That Three email says it works anywhere in the UK and that the cost of the service is effectively free: a call or text will cost you just whatever it would cost you if you were doing it over a mobile phone signal like 3G or 4G.

Also, when you phone someone this way, it looks and sounds to them like you’re ringing from your normal phone. I’ve made wifi calls before but using Skype; it’s not been the best experience but generally speaking neither is Skype.

If you’re a Three customer, you’ve got or you will soon get the email with details. If you’re not or you’re in a hurry, check out the Three company’s page about it online and go get the free iOS app or free Android app.

Will.I.Ever.Learn tries to beat the Apple Watch with a Teleport Bracelet

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Pray you don’t get one of these for Christmas. I know you won’t buy it for yourself, but imagine someone giving it to you on Christmas Day and noticing that you stopped wearing it by Valentines. Because the Apple Watch is out. Now, that’s not to even pretend that the Apple Watch will be unbeatable, but it is being generous saying you could still be wearing Will.i.am’s new smartwatch by February.

I say smartwatch. Apparently he or some people are calling it a cuff. Okay. Looks like a black plastic version of the teleport bracelets from Blake’s 7 to me.

A site called The Next Web got that image and says:

When you think wearables, you donā€™t usually think international superstar or Salesforce. Push aside that old way of thinking aside because Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am just unveiled his Puls smartwatch at the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco.

Pronounced ā€œpulse,ā€ the smartwatch is voice controlled via a Siri-like feature called Aneeda (get it? Aneeda. I need aā€¦). It ships with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (called Twitrist. get it? Twit wrist. Puns!), and Salesforce. It also has the expected photo, email, contacts, call, texting, calculator, music and fitness functions.

Will.i.am Introduces the Puls Smartwatch ā€“ no author named, The Next Web (16 October 2014)

Read the full piece for much more detail and much more photography. There are a couple of shots where you’ll think actually, that’s not bad. But then there are some where you’ll need drink a couple of shots before you think that.

Reddit buys Alien Blue

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Given that Reddit is where Ask Me Anything are held and that’s been in the news for when President Obama took part in an AMA, I know what it is. So in fact I know what each word in the headline means yet when you string it all together like that…

Reddit is a hugely popular online discussion area ā€“ at least, it’s hugely popular in a cult kind of secret way. It’s unfair of me but also quicker if I say that the more techie you are, the more you like Reddit. Except that was a coup getting President Obama on and Reddit’s influence and widespread popularity is growing. Yet it still remains a bit of a mess. It reminds me of the old CompuServe where you kind of got used to how it worked, its foibles became a little endearing. But they are foibles nonetheless and non-Reddit people have been trying to fix it.

Perhaps the most successful is Jase Morrissey, maker of an independent Reddit app called Alien Blue. I don’t know why it’s called that. But as of today, Alien Blue is no longer independent. Reddit has bought Alien Blue.

Techcrunch:

If youā€™re even kind of active on reddit, you probably know of Alien Blue. As far as perusing reddit on iOS goes, itā€™s pretty much the undisputed champ.

It seems reddit would agree. The company has just taken Alien Blue under its wing, acquiring the project assets and hiring its sole developer.

ā€œOur whole philosphy has been to give our users choice. Weā€™ve got the reddit AMA app, and alienblue coming outā€¦ but we really want users to use whatever they want.ā€ says Ellen Pao, redditā€™s head of Strategic Partnerships. ā€œWe think Alienblue is great, and itā€™s the most popular reddit app on iOS. We wanted to be able to offer it as a reddit app, and we wanted to help Jase with additional resources to do everything he wanted to do with it.ā€

Reddit Acquires Alien Blue, The Most Popular Unofficial Reddit App ā€“ Greg Kumparak, TechCrunch (16 October 2014)

It’s a free app but it used to come with paid-for in-app purchases and for a reportedly brief time, those purchases are free too. Read the full piece and then go grab yourself the iOS app if you fancy it.

Pretty picture: The Real Cost of Productivity

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Actually it’s an infographic. It’s a big infographic, or maybe I just mean loooong. Here’s how it begins:
IMG_0747.JPG
It’s by a firm called SignNow and it goes on and on and on. Take a gawp at the full thing on this page about it from Todoist.com:

And here’s how Todoist begins describing it:

We all know that wasted time costs companies money, but what isnā€™t always clear is exactly how much. Thatā€™s why we were interested in reviewing this newly released infographic sent to us and created by eSignature brand SignNow, which specifies exactly how much money and time are wasted by some common distractions, diversions, and interruptions. There are some pretty surprising numbers, including:

Executives average 23 hours per week in meetings, of which 7.8 hours are unnecessary and poorly runā€“ a total of 2.3 months wasted per year.
The search for lost and misplaced materials accounts for nearly 38 hours per week, per employee. Annually this amounts to a full working week!
64% of employees visit non-work related websites every day at work
The full range of statistics compiled by SignNow may shock you, but there are many things you can do to help reduce these costs and stay productive, such as:

The Real Cost of Productivity and How it Affects You ā€“ David Trey, Todoist.com (14 October 2014)

Even if you just scroll down through it, it’s worth a look.

Tips for working from home

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These aren’t mine. Though I do work from home and I have a lot of thoughts about it. Probably chief among them is that it’s easier to have a boss telling you what to do all day. A lot easier.

This fella acknowledges the benefits but cautions about the problems and has a lot of advice:

You have the freedom to do things that you wouldnā€™t normally be able to do if you had to head to an office every day.

But thatā€™s not to say that working from home isnā€™t without itā€™s disadvantages to. Most notably, itā€™s easy to get caught in a routine that is not overly productive. If youā€™re feeling tired, the couch is right next to you.

Another danger that I experience is that if Iā€™m not careful, Iā€™ll go days without leaving the house, affecting both my mood and my productivity.

After working from home for a few years, Iā€™ve developed some tips and tricks to help me become a more productive entrepreneur.

1. Establish a Morning Routine
I found that my morning has a profound effect on my entire day. It affects my focus, my energy level, and yes, my productivity.

You can say that if I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, Iā€™ll be perfectly useless for the rest of the day.

Productivity Tips for the Home Based Entrepreneur ā€“ Greg Digneo, Biz 3.0 (Undated)

Read on for the rest of number 1 and all the other tips.

Check your calendars and contacts: iOS 8 not syncing reliably

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If you check this out online with a swifty Google search you’ll find many reports and some solutions to a problem about syncing. For instance, this: Apple Support page.

But it’s not working for me. And given how reliant I am on this stuff, it’s becoming a big issue: calendar entries on my iPhone don’t make it to my iPad and vice versa.

I’ve no solution myself but wanted to warn you: check your calendar to see that it’s all copying across the way nature intended.

Now Samsung copies Apple’s near-death experience

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It’s hard to believe now but Apple was once within 90 days of going bankrupt. Samsung isn’t in as bad a way as that but it has just announced that its profits are down. A lot. Seriously, a lot. They’ve dropped 60%.

Cue lots of articles. Most go along the lines of how every technology and business advisor or expert in the world has said, suggested and sometimes demanded that Apple copy Samsung and give us cheap phones with massive screens. Apple’s ignored them all and suddenly, say the articles, is looking pretty smart.

I agree. It appeals to me as a writer, since we spend so long typing away, that Apple’s head-down working approach is paying off.

But I am frustrated. Today Samsung is deaths’-dooring and everybody understands why. (Short answer: the company leaps in quickly to copy existing hits like the iPhone and now other firms are leaping in to copy Samsung. Samsung was a ‘fast follower’ rather than the innovator everybody kept telling us and now everybody always knew that,)

It’s just that we’ve been told Android is the very best phone system in the world and it just never is when you pick the bleedin’ thing up. Quick aside? A respected, long-standing computer journalist handed me a Nexus 7 tablet one day and I agreed it was very good. The icons and the spacing of them looked a bit ugly to me but actually, I think the spacing of the icons on iPads is ugly too.

But I tried to swipe to the left and couldn’t because I was at the first screen. I can’t remember how this worked now but it had a very clear and obvious visual clue that I was at the first. I scrolled to the right, reached the end and had no visual clue. This journalist rolled his eyes and said it was because Apple ‘invented’ whatever you call that elastic-band-like thing when you reach the end of a list or a screen.

I call it crap. The designers of this Nexus couldn’t be bothered to do something at both ends of the scrolling, they just did one. Absolutely zero interest in making something useful, zero interest in having any pride in the work, just knock it out, tick the box that says there’s the elastic band like alternative, then claim it’s better than iPad. And wait for journalists to say it’s better than iPad.

If you like Android, great. Have a good time. You have far more patience than I do.

But if you like Android on Samsung, that’s now… interesting.

I have a problem with Samsung copying Apple, I have a problem with Android really, really copying iOS, I just also have a problem with articles saying that this 60% profit drop is the end of the line for Samsung.

Mind you, you know that 60% drop? It is for the quarter before the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus came out. The iPhones with the big screens that were previously an Android purview.